Lunch Break: Fancy Food Courts

Food courts aren’t just for malls anymore; they are showing up increasingly with a focus on good food, and in some cases, unattached to any sort of mall entirely. Enjoy the variety in today’s New York Lunch Break. By Yvo Sin.

FoodParc

Attached to the fancy Eventi hotel, Food Parc opened amidst fanfare last fall, offering a combination of high end food options. Among them, 3Bs – burgers, bacon, beer – makes its mark with remarkable choices. Bacon snacks and fried pickles both make their appearance here, but the bacon & cheese stuffed hash browns (pictured) steal the show. Ketchup is unnecessary, as is anything else but a deep sigh of satisfaction after each bite. An excellent bite from another stall, the RedFarm Stand, is the egg roll stuffed with Katz’s pastrami, served with sweet mustard for dipping. Mix and match for a complete meal!

New World Mall

(credit: feistyfoodie.com)

4021 Main St
Flushing, NY 11354

The latest addition to the Flushing food-mall scene, New World Mall made a splash with its similarities to food stalls in Asia. While the food court can be incredibly daunting to those not quite fluent in a Chinese dialect, head straight to SnoPo (down the escalator, to the back left) for an icy treat that will fascinate your senses. Shaved ice that tastes creamy but approximates the texture of very cold cotton candy – yes, that’s cotton candy – order from the Pure Snowy side of the menu (Romantic Snowy loosely translates to “dump a lot of unnecessary toppings that distract from the essence of SnoPo”). Green tea is the pictured flavor, but better choices are mango, lychee, or coffee. And if you really need to have something savory for lunch, the stall next to SnoPo offers handpulled noodles that pass muster.

Food Gallery 32

Mere blocks from Food Parc exists another multi-level food court, this one focusing on Asian treats. Unlike New World Mall, though, there’s more focus on Korean cuisine, and English speakers should feel no need for a translator to navigate the stalls. Boon Sik Zip offers kim bap, a Korean take on sushi rolls, while Bian Dang offers the ever-lovely Taiwanese fried pork chop over rice with pork sauce. There’s also Korea House, offering a $9.99 kalbi meal (pictured) that should surely sate even the biggest eaters… the variety offered here goes on and on, take your time exploring the entire place!